Drain spout for refrigerator cars



Jan. 6, 1953 J. S.'LUNDVALL 2,624,419

DRAIN SPOUT FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Sept. 8, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 jwmum W IN VEN TOR.

BYfi I ATTORNE 5.

Jan. 6, 1953 J. 5. LUNDVALL 2,624,419

DRAIN SPOUTFOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Sept. 8, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 I 19 "Q9 E, 4 1i 2/ MIN I INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 6,' 1953 'John' S. LundvallfPark RidgefiIlL; assignor "to Union Asbestos Rubberflompany; Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illinois Application September 8, 1949,'Serial No. 114,590

(Cll 182- 8) Claims.

1 This invention relates'to drain'spouts for refrigerator cars and particularly to a spout structure adapted to be mounted on a refrigerator car to carry away the brine and melting ice therefrom.

In the operation of refrigerator carsthe'melting ice becomes mixed with salt or other chemicals used with the ice to form a brine which 'is highly corrosive. It has been the usual practice to conduct this brine from the carthrough traps beneath the ice compartments and through'spouts projecting from the bottom of the'car. Such spouts have-heretofore been relatively shortin orderto provide adequate clearance for the journal boxes'and other parts of the car trucks: so that the brine is discharged a substantial distance above the ground. As a result'the' brine blows over the car trucks and other metal parts and causes considerable damage thereto.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a drain spout which confines the brine until it reaches a point below the level of the journal boxes so that it will be discharged on the ground with minimum spraying or blowing "over 25 ..mounted below openings through which; the brine may flow. An inverted cup shaped trap member i8 iscentrally mounted .in the cupshaped member I6, and the upper end the trucks and adjacent car parts.

Another object isto-provide a drain spout in which the parts are-supported 'by amounting bracket or adapter. By using brackets of different sizes and slightly different constructions/the same spouts can be used on cars of different types or heights thereby eliminating the necessity "for a number of spouts of difierent designs.

Still another object is 'to provide a' drain spout in which a drain pipe extension is'provided'to conduct the brine fromthe car drain pipe to the spout. Such drain pipe extensions can be of different sizes to accommodate inaccuracies in the locations of the car drain pipes and spouts.

A further object is to provide a drain spout which is readily removable and replaceable so that worn spouts can easily be repaired or replaced.

A still further object is to provide a drain spout in which a wind guard is provided tozprevent brine from blowing out of the-spout before reaching its discharge end.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more-readily-apparent when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a refrigerator car equipped with drain spouts embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial enlarged section on the line 22 of Figure 1;

--{Ihe -drain-pipe IGpas shown,- extends through. the floor to? the car and may extend through wa crossrsupporting beamii beneaththe car floor. The structure-asso far described is standard con- .ft'rap. and drain' spout Ltional .four;

[Figure 3 isvaflpartial section through the car structure; "Figure 4=is a-pa'rtial section on the line 4-4 v of Figure 3; and

liFigure'5 is a partial section on the line 5- -5 of Figure 4.

Theinvention maybe applied to any desired conventional typeof.refrigeratorcar, as shown in Figure 1-, having a floor inside walls H, and a roof .IiZ, all of which may be of the usual insulated-construction. --In the interior of the car adjacent its opposite ends ice compartments or wheeltrucks, indicated generally .at I3, eachfof which carries two pairs of wheels ro- .,tatably supported in journal boxes I l. The trucks areicentrally .pivoted to the ends of the car in 20 the usual manner to turn thereon so that thecar can negotiate curves.

Asshown in Figures 2 and 3, the inner floor of i the car,- as. indicated at I5, is provided adjacent theaends of. the. car with-well traps to receive .brinefrom the ice compartments. Each of the welltraps includes-a cup shaped stamping it il in the car floor of the drainpipe i9'projects into the member l8.

ventional-practice in refrigerator cars.

The presentinvention provides a drain spout structure for conducting brine fromthe car to a ,-point-'below' the journal boxes It so that the *brine will discharge onto the ground and will 40 cent metal partszof the car; As shown, the spout structure comprises a 'mounting bracket or not blowor spray over the truck parts-and adjaadapter 22 secured'to the-floo-r'of the car or,'as shown, to the cross beam'2l by bolts 23 or like :fastenings. The bracket 22 is generally Z-shaped so that it extends downward and then horizontally, as indicated at 24, beneath the drain pipe I9. The horizontal portion 24 is provided with 3 :a' circular opening loosely to receive a drain pipe extension 25 which is preferably of somewhat larger diameter than the drain pipe i9. To hold the extension 25 in place it is provided with an enlarged annular shoulder 26 resting on the bracket portion 24 and with its upper end loosely surrounding the lower end of the drain pipe l9.

With this construction perfect alignment of the bracket 22 and the drain pipe I9 is not required since the extension 25 can tilt to accommodate its upper to its lower end, as best seen in Figure 2, and which may be of constant or tapering width, as desired. The spout 21 is supported pivotally on the bracket 22 by providing a pivot pin 2Z8 carried by the upper end of the spout near its open edge and which is received in a hooked support 29 connected to the bracket by detachable fastenings such as bolts 31. The upper end of the spout is cut off at an angle to its length so that when mounted the spout will extend downwardly from the bracket at an acute angle to the vertical. The brackets are preferably so located that the several spouts will extend outwardly and downward toward the adjacent ends of the car, as best seen in Figure 1.

With the spout mounted as shown it can easily be removed for replacement in the event it becomes damaged. Also due to the positioning of the spout, as seen in Figure 5, it will clear the car journal boxes and other parts of the truck even when turned to the extreme angular position indicated in dotted lines. Furthermore, due to the pivoting of the spout even if it should be engaged by some part of the car truck it can swing outward so that it will not be damaged.

In order to prevent wind from blowing the brine out of the spout or back up the spout and out its top a wind guard plate 32 is provided in each of the spouts. As shown, the wind guard comprises an elongated metal strip of substantially the same width as the spout and pivoted at 33 on an axis adjacent the top open edge of the spout. The plate 32 normally hang-s down in the spout as shown so that brine discharging into the spout behind the plate will be protected from the action of the wind until it reaches the lower end of the spout. Due to the pivoting of the plate the brine can discharge behind it, although wind will be prevented from sweeping into the spout to carry the brine out at its upper end. It will be noted, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, that the spouts extend to a point approximately level with the bottoms of the journal boxes so that the brine will be discharged adjacent the ground and blowing and spraying over the trucks and adjacent car parts will be minimized.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail herein, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended What is claimed is:

1. A drain spout for a refrigerator car having a drain pipe extending through the bottom of the car comprising a bracket adapted to be connected to the bottom of the car, a drain pipe extension carried by the bracket in register with the drain pipe, a spout in the form of an open channel extending downward at an acute angle to the vertical from the bracket with its upper end underlying the lower end of the drain pipe extension, and a wind guard plate pivoted in the channel adjacent its upper end and extending lengthwise of the channel.

2. A drain spout for a refrigerator car having a. drain pipe extending through its bottom comprising a bracket adapted to be mounted on the car bottom and having a horizontal portion formed with an opening lying beneath the drain pipe, a drain pipe extension fitting vertically in the opening and having an enlarged shoulder engaging the horizontal bracket portion to support the drain pipe extension, and a drain spout carried by the bracket with its upper end underlying the drain pipe extension.

3. A drain spout for a refrigerator car having a drain pipe extending through its bottom comprising a bracket adapted to be mounted on the car bottom and having a horizontal portion formed with an opening lying beneath the drain pipe,'a drain pipe extension fitting vertically in the opening and having an enlarged shoulder engaging the horizontal bracket portion to support the drain pipe extension, and a channel shaped spout pivoted on the bracket adjacent the open side of the channel with its upper end underlying the drain pipe extension.

4. A drain spout for a refrigerator car having a drain pipe extending through its bottom comprising a bracket adapted to be mounted on the car bottom and having a horizontal portion formed with an opening lying beneath the drain pipe, a drain pipe extension fitting vertically in the opening and having an enlarged portion to support the drain pipe extension, a channel shaped spout carried by the bracket and extending downward therefrom at an acute angle to the vertical with its upper end underlying the drain pipe extension, and a wind guard plate pivoted in the channel adjacent its upper end and ex tending lengthwise thereof.

5. A drain spout for a refrigerator car having a drain pipe extending through its bottom COIllprising a bracket adapted to be mounted on the car bottom adjacent the drain pipe, 2. channel shaped spout carried by the bracket extending downward at an acute angle to the vertical with its upper end vertically underlying the drain pipe, and a wind guard plate pivoted in the channel adjacent the upper open side thereof and extend-- ing downward in the channel.

JOHN S. LUNDVALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,329,015 Posson Jan. 27, 1920 1,566,052 VonDabrowski Dec. 15, 1925 1,604,772 Gillies Oct. 26, 1926 1,707,330 Stone Apr. 2, 1929 1,760,182 Stone May 27, 1930 2,110,927 Zane Mar. 15, 1938 2,334,376 Bauer Nov. 16, 1943 

